Hi! I'm Courtney. I read (mostly) good books and write cool reviews. I appreciate you checking out the page, and I hope you find a new book to read.
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December 31, 2013

It follows four different story lines that seemingly are all
connected despite the fact that they take place at different times sometimes
centuries apart.

What I gathered from it was that it was a book about
language and communication. It makes you think about how language was made and
how it has carried throughout time to keep communication consistent.

The stories by themselves were interesting, but where it
lost me was when they were supposed to connect. Maybe it would have been a bit
more clear is each story was told in its entirety, then it moved on to the
next. But, it jumped around so much that I found myself confused more often
than not. I would just start getting into one of the stories, then it would
switch to one of the others.

I feel like the idea for this book was right on point as it
was really interesting, the execution was just a bit off to me. It was hard to
follow at times.

In saying that, I did enjoy the writing style, or maybe I should say the author's voice. I did not find myself bored reading it. I don't feel the author went over the top or tried too hard in the execution which is something you find a lot when dealing with books that are a little different from the norm.So overall, the actual writing was good, but the layout and arrangement (or execution) was a bit off.

December 29, 2013

Soldier Hill is a touching story celebrating the lives of
soldiers who have fought for their country.

Eddie is a high school kid. He doesn't do well in school,
and he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. His guidance counselor
doesn't think he is going anywhere with his life. Aside from all of this, Eddie
shows how big of a heart he has.

When Eddie discovers a tablet honoring a boy named Billy on his
school grounds, he decides to find out more about him. Having someone die who
lived so close to him really hit home. He felt a connection to Billy and wasn't
sure why.

With the Vietnam War taking too many young people and
affecting families all over the country, Eddie was determined to find out who
Billy was, where he came from and who his family is.

This book follows Eddie is his adventure from researching at
the library to asking around town.

Joe is a lonely old man in town that everyone talks about.
They spread nasty rumors about him being crazy and even a little creepy. There
is a room in his house that is closed and locked so no one can venture in.

When Eddie becomes friends with Joe despite everyone’s
warnings, he uncovers all of the answers he needs.

When the tribute to Billy is then threatened to be destroyed
by contractors taking down the trees around the school, Eddie enlists the help
of his good friend Dave to save the tree and the tablet in order to protect the
memory and tribute to Billy. Through much hard work and determination they
preserve the memorial, and it turns out even better than they ever could have imagined.

This is a wonderful story about being selfless and honoring
those who sacrifice so much their country.

It is touching and memorable for being just a short novella.

I really enjoyed the writing style as well. A lot of times
with historical fiction, (okay, it isn't THAT far back in history, but stick
with me) authors tend to try too hard to make it authentic, and it just ends up
being boring and having no good flow to it. I was pleasantly surprised to find
that was not the case with this one. It had a nice flow to it, and I didn't
find myself bored at any part of the story.

I did find myself wondering why there was so much focus on
the “crazy” old man, but it all comes full circle and makes sense at the end.

The story is sweet, the writing is on-point, and it is easy
to get through.

December 27, 2013

The Christmas Town is a beautiful time travel book about
happiness and love.

I almost just want to leave it there, because that is all
you need to know, but I shall continue.

The Christmas Town begins with two women trying to get home
for Christmas. When a large winter storm threatens their journey, they must
share a car from the airport.

One their way home, they get lost and end up crossing a
mysterious bridge. They ended up in a small, seemingly vintage, town on the
other side of the bridge When they notice that other people’s reactions to them
and their car were those of fear, they figured out something was a bit off.

When they fall in love with two army boys fighting in World
War II, they have a difficult decision to make. Do they stay out of their time
in place to wait for their men to come home from war, or do they ignore their
hearts and try to get home?

It is easy to find yourself rooting for the girls and their
men to be together. It was such a happy and uplifting story that just needs to
be read.

The Christmas town is a beautifully written story. It sucks
you in from the first page, and fully engages you up until the very last.

The story is funny, happy, and sort of magical.

The characters are all likable and all very well-rounded.

This is a great book to read during the holiday season, and
it could really be great during any time of the year.

Her parents sent her to boarding school, and she decided to
keep a journal with her to write down her experiences.

During the first part of her year there, Davina and her roommate
discover there is just something not quite right with their art teachers.

Being typical young girls, they decide to be little
detectives. This was what I liked the most about this book. Kid’s always have
fun trying to be detectives, so reading this book will be fun for them to read
and relate to.

They help to uncover the truth about their mysterious
teachers and help save people’s lives and famous artwork all at the same time.

This is a cute story for children. I even enjoyed it, and it
is a book I would have thoroughly enjoyed reading it as a kid.

It was written well for children to read and enjoy. They
will be able to relate to the characters and their imagination can run wild
with all of the plot twists.

This was an interesting book. My first impression of it was
that is it pretty long.

It is pretty complicated, but it starts to make sense the
further into it that you get. It follows two different people living separate
lives after they meet for the first time at the beginning of the novel.

David is an ex-marine that takes on a tough job after
returning from Afghanistan. He must go under cover and reconnect with his
childhood buddies to join into their gang activities. He becomes an informant
for the authorities. Taking this job puts him and everyone around him in
danger.

Jenny is a college girl that comes from a very financially
stable household. She is a good person and volunteers every Saturday at St.
Vincent’s giving food out to those who are less fortunate. She loves her
volunteer job.

These two main characters come together at the beginning of
the novel when Jenny is attacked and raped by a gang of teenagers that hang
around the area where St. Vincent’s is located. David comes to her rescue and
fights off the boys before more damage can be done to Jenny. David falls for
her almost instantly, but he knows that his lifestyle is very risky, and he
doesn’t want to put Jenny in any more harm.

Once Jenny’s roommate finds out about the tragic incident,
she selfishly makes it all about her and moves out of the apartment they share,
forcing Jenny to move also and start a whole new life somewhere else.

Jenny finds a nice apartment closer to her college and
becomes instant friends with the other students that also live in the building.

Meanwhile, David is stuck doing “business runs” for the gang.
He has to maintain a balance of doing his job correctly while remembering the
details to report.

I was very conflicted while reading this one.

The idea and the story were right on. It was an interesting
theme and story that I really enjoyed. I found myself trying to guess what came
next, and when I couldn't guess I was left wondering. The way David and Jenny
have two separate lives, but they keep intertwining makes for a really good and
consistent story.

What I felt was off was the writing style. The writing was
so textbook and formal that it was hard to get through at times. Some passages
just ran really dry and were almost a bit boring.

Because of the formality of the wording, the conversations
between characters were also extremely unbelievable. They did not seem natural
which messed with the flow of the book.

There were some grammar mistakes such as random quotation
marks in places where there are no quotes.

There was also an area in the book where the spelling of
Jenny’s name wen from Jenny to Jennie, and then it switched back.

Along with this, there seemed to be too many filler chapter
for me. A lot of the chapters could be taken out, and the book would flow much
better.

December 23, 2013

This book is the sequel to A Boy Named Ray. My review of
that one is HERE.

Theo, Mary, and Ray are back for this one. There is a new
addition to their family, though. Theo and Mary have a daughter named Haley.
She is just as perfect and gifted as Ray.

She shares his abilities of being able to talk to nature
except she connects more with plants and animals, and Ray with natural forces
such as wind and water.

This is just a nice feel good story. It is in the realm of
science fiction, so some of the reactions and story lines are not realistic,
but it isn’t meant to be.

What I found to be pretty interesting with this book was
that every chapter told a different story, but it all came together to tell one
big story. It was fun to put together.

For being so short, each character was well developed. This
may be due to the fact that we were introduced to Theo, Mary & Ray in the
first book, but nonetheless, I did not feel disappointed with any of the
character developments. It was done very well.

The story was also well rounded. It completed the story
circle beginning in the first book. Theo and his family are able to return to
the town that they were run out of for being ugly. When Theo and Haley return
after hearing that the once beautiful town has gone to ruin, they help restore
the town with the help of Haley and Ray’s unique gifts. The family is accepted
back into the town, and everyone is happy again.

While unrealistic at times, the real story these two books
are telling is that doing a simple nice deed for someone can go a long way in
the end. That is a lesson I feel people need to be reminded of more often.
These books do a good job of conveying these messages through fun and
interesting mini story lines within one complete story.

3.5/5 stars. I really enjoyed it, but there needs to be some
editing due to some grammar mistakes and
wrong pronouns.

December 20, 2013

It is up to Dr. Morgan Sierra and her pal Zoltan to uncover
who is behind the theft and who is framing the Jewish citizens for the terrible
crimes of setting bombs off all over the city.

Jewish symbols start appearing all around the town, it
becomes more apparent that they are being framed, and that something serious is
about to happen. Bombs are going off in the city, and no one knows how to stop
it.

I felt like I was on a journey through Budapest while
reading this; Traveling through the city and the underground labyrinth while
learning more about the history as I went along. It was a fun reading
experience and I recommend it for readers who enjoy history, travel, religion,
and even politics. It has a little bit of all of those things for readers to
enjoy.

It is a novella, so it is pretty short, but I didn’t feel as
though anything was lacking.

The characters were well written. There wasn’t much time for
elaborate character arcs, but none of them were boring or useless. They all had
a place in the story and were written to match their role very well.

Not to mention the major cliff hanger at the end.

4/5 stars. Some of the scene cuts were confusing when
starting a new chapter. But once you figure it out, it is fun to read, and it
will take you on a journey.

December 19, 2013

Have you ever been so sick of humankind? Have you ever
wanted to rule the world?

That is what Paul and Damineh want. They want to take over
the world and make everyone just like them. Vampires!

Paul and Damineh have been lovers for hundreds of years, but
now Paul decides he is sick of humans and wishes to take over the world.

Little do they know, there is someone higher up than they
are that has more control. They must try to take that away from him in order to
complete their mission.

The vampires lovers must gain their own army in order to
take over. After they initiate a mass converting session, they have their army
in place and must set their plan in motion.

With a certain element of fate on their side, their chance
of success is higher.

This was an interesting novella. I feel as though it could
have been a little shorter, as there were parts that I felt were not necessary
to the story. It was a little slow at times, but picked up when the action
began.

The characters didn’t feel like they evolved over the course
of the story. There wasn’t much of an arc for any one character.

There are some kind people left in this world. Oscar
personifies that.

Oscar is a private investigator hired by Andrea Fox to
provide photographic evidence that her husband is not being loyal to their
marriage. Due to a pre-marriage agreement, her husband having an affair is the
only way she will make out with part of his fortune in the event of a divorce.

There is only one problem – Mr. Fox was as faithful as they
come.

Oscar could not obtain photographic evidence, so he was paid
a lot of money to frame Mr. Fox. Instead, he discovered another secret about
the couple that will end up coming out instead.

He does not want to ruin a whole family on Christmas Eve.
So, because he looks like Santa Claus, he brings their child a toy that has
been sold out in al stores in order to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

It is a sweet little story. I wasn’t sure where it was going
or how it was going to end up, but once I got to the end, I was very satisfied
with how it turned out.

Read Broken Christmas and find the secret code to get this
story, you will not regret it.

December 15, 2013

I am going to call this Bro-Fiction. If that is not a genre,
it is now.

I am going to call it that because it seems like a story a
guy might share with his friends. It is pretty sexually explicit and full of
dirty humor.

The definition of incorrigible and the top two definitions
that match this book are:

Incapable or being corrected or reformed

and

Difficult or impossible to control or manage

Why does that match this book? The three main characters in
this book do not change their point of view no matter what life throws their
way – good or bad.

I feel as though the characters all represented three
different sides to one man in a way. They were all completely different, but I
feel that if you put them together, they would make up one complete man with
their thoughts.

That being said, and even though it is a short story, I
don’t feel as though there was any real character development.

It was interesting to read, but I couldn’t really get into
it, and felt myself cringing from time to time from the content.

December 14, 2013

Justin Sirois digs into the growing market of social media and mobile
apps to bring an interesting new series to readers.

The story mainly takes place in Baltimore and follows two
main characters Dani and Henry. Their story lines are separate, but as I had
been assuming since beginning the book, they end up crossing paths along the
way.

Henry is a program developer that has recently gone through
a divorce, and he is just trying to get through. His job is enough for him, but
the payments on his house and mortgage are getting out of hand. As he tries to
get over his recent divorce, he begins calling in to work more often than not.
When his good friend from college calls him up and flies him out to California
for a weekend, he is given an offer that he cannot refuse – no matter how much
he may want to.

Dani is a single girl covered in tattoos and works as a bar
tender at a local club. She is good at her job, but struggles to make rent. She
lives with her friend Bonnie, and though they don’t get along all of the time,
the arrangement is good enough for them – at the beginning. She is covered in
tattoos, none of which have a great amount of meaning to her, don’t ask her
what they mean, and ESPECIALLY don’t call her a hipster.

To me, Dani was the more interesting character of the two.
For a good majority of the book, Henry was a bit whiny, but that is his
character. He has gone through a rough patch in life, but is working on turning
it around.

About midway through we are introduced to two other
character, Jess and Uly. They are brother and sister and Jess is about four
years older. They are interesting characters, but for the longest time, I could
not figure out what part they had to play in the story. It becomes a bit clearer
as the story progresses, but I hope to see a bit more of them in Book 2.

Now to what ties all of these characters together and what
this book is really about. kidnApp. It is a new mobile app that was created by
Henry’s college friend Steven. This app allows the “waiters” to submit an
application to be kidnapped by hired “takers”. The takers are hired by the
company and are professionals who are there to fulfill all of the waiters
wishes for their kidnapping experience. Once the kidnap is done, the takers
return the waiters to their homes. In the app itself, it allows waiters to
write about their experiences and to connect with other waiters.

It is a very interesting concept, but it could go horribly
wrong.

This book is written very well. Justin Sirois writes in a
way that captures your attention from the very first page. The chapters are
fairly short, and there are also breaks in each chapter if you need to put the
book down to take a break.

The characters all have their own stories, and they all grow
as the story progresses. None of them felt like unnecessary characters. They
were all important to the book, and they were all relatable in their own ways.

I can’t wait to read the rest of this series.

5/5 stars. Perfect set up for a series. Interesting
storyline with great characters and character development.